Written by Scott Blaszak and directed by Isaac Ezban, Parallel focuses on a group of friends who stumble upon a mirror that serves as a portal to a "multiverse." However, they soon discover that importing knowledge from the other side in order to better their lives brings increasingly dangerous consequences.
The cast includes David Harewood (Supergirl) and Martin Wallström (Mr. Robot), and we recently had the opportunity to catch up with the latter to discuss Parallel ahead of its release from Vertical Entertainment in Select Theaters & On Demand on December 11th, 2020.
Wallström was kind enough to spend some time talking to us about his role as Noel in the movie, taking us behind the scenes of this edge-of-your-seat sci-fi thriller. Featuring heaps of twists and turns and tonnes of moments you won't see coming, it's a fun time, and well worth watching this weekend!
Needless to say, we want to extend a huge thank you to Martin for taking the time to talk to us.
It doesn't feel like we get a lot of original sci-fi stories these days, so how excited were you to read a script like this one and what made you want to get involved with the project?
First of all, I think it's because I saw Isaac [Ezban]'s two previous films. I think he has a very interesting take on sci-fi. I'm not that into sci-fi, per se. When it's good, and it acts as a trojan horse for a bigger or other theme, it's great, and I think Isaac really had that in his previous films. That was the beginning of it, then we had a conversation, and I was also attracted by this part of Noel. I found his arc very interesting, so those were the major things that made me want to participate.
Without getting into spoilers, your character definitely succumbs to some of his darker impulses; what was it like exploring the character's complexities and his temptations?
As you say, it turns out to be a dark theme for him, but I don't think it starts out that way. He suddenly gets whatever he dreamt of, but he realises that the only way to keep it is to defend it by all means. That's really interesting. That's hopefully something that translates to people: sometimes, when we want to defend the most precious thing we have, we cross lines to keep it.
The film does a great job of mixing sci-fi with a little bit of horror, but what was that transition like for you, as an actor, as the tone starts to shift with those later scenes?
That's interesting because up to the mid-point of the film, it's almost a family adventure movie [Laughs]. I could watch the first half of the film with my kids! Then, it starts to shift and transcend into being sci-fi, thriller, drama, and then horror. Isacc and the writer really wanted to play with the genre, and to me as an actor, that's not something when you're in it, you think about. You just follow the arc, and they capture that in another way, I think. There are comedic parts in the film too, and I can honestly say that with one of the scenes, I've never had as much fun ever in my life as when we shot that. Noel gets to try out a dream he had, so that's one part of trying out a new genre.
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Those scenes parodying The Godfather must have been a blast for you.
It was wonderful. Another thing with the whole process with the project is Scott [Blaszak], Isaac, and the producers, I was lucky enough to be with a cast who all write and direct. We were also given freedom to shape some of the scenes, and with the Godfather scene, it was originally something else, and we started talking about turning it into this Godfather thing instead. Mark and I did those scenes, and it was honestly the most fun I've ever had at work.
The characters in the film all have a strong bond, but behind the scenes, would you say you found yourselves developing a similar rapport as a cast, and if so, how important was that to the chemistry we see on screen?
I think this cast and how professional they all are, we really gave everything to just dig into the work and start discussing scenes. When you're in a place like that, in a hotel working all the time...well, we all agreed that we wanted to become a really good working crew. They're wonderful people, but we all felt that we wanted to work together and see how we could develop scenes. After the table read, we sat down as we hadn't met before despite having to portray this group of people who knew each other so well, and we just got to work. That was right up until the day we wrapped.
Parallel universes are something we're seeing explored more and more in film and on TV whether it's something like Avengers: Endgame or even the ideas Mr. Robot played with during its final season, but what do you think it is about that idea that's so appealing to filmmakers and audiences?
That's a good question. I guess mankind have always been interested about parallel universes and the 'What if?' of it all. People always thought our world was crazy, but what's happening with the pandemic, you can't believe it, and that desire for fantasy becomes stronger when it's like a sci-fi movie going on in the real world. Sci-fi is just another way...it's drama, and again when it's a really good sci-fi, it's a trojan horse for a bigger theme, and I guess that's why Isaac wanted to do this one.
It sounds like this was something of a passion project for Isaac Ezban, but what was it like for you working with him on Parallel?
He's very passionate. Often when I work with directors, they'll have their idea, and I'll have mine. Suddenly, we have to debate or mix or mould or fight for it to find the better idea. For me, that friction was so much fun here. I told Isaac, 'I always have 1000 ideas when it comes to a scene or character, and I'll be coming at you every day with so many ideas and I want you to know, if you don't like them, it's never personal. I just want to put them out there.' He was super happy with that, so we had a great collaboration.
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It often feels like the movie alternates between something like The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror, but were there any films or TV shows you turned to for inspiration when it came to getting to grips with the workings of the world of Parallel?
I don't usually have a special film as an inspiration. I don't watch that many films. I do watch documentaries because I'm more interested in human psychology and maybe not the reference of another film. To me, that's mostly tying you as an actor to being a carbon copy of something. I didn't have any film as a reference for it, but I know Isaac and the DOP had so many. I knew they would take care of that!
Finally, if, like in the film, you could visit a parallel Earth, what do you think the first thing you would do would be?
I would definitely try to become a Formula 1 driver. I would go in and out of that mirror until I succeeded!
Or you could play Spider-Man!
Maybe. A Formula 1 driver first, and then if I did fail, I'd go for Spider-Man [Laughs].